Two Mali Basketball Players Filmed Fighting Each Other After Loss at Women's World Cup

Giovana Gelhoren
·1 min read
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Two Mali Women's Basketball Players Get Into Fight After Team Loss
Two Mali Women's Basketball Players Get Into Fight After Team Loss

Tensions were high between two Mali basketball players after their loss at the Women's World Cup Monday.

Teammates Salimatou Kourouma and Kamite Elisabeth Dabou got into a violent altercation following their team's 81-68 loss to Serbia at the 2022 Women's Basketball World Cup in Sydney, Australia, the New York Post reported.

In a now-viral video the pair were filmed throwing punches at each other while a reporter interviews Serbian player Sasa Cado. Other Malian players then rush to the situation to break up the fight before it escalates further.

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On Tuesday, the International Basketball Federation issued a statement about the incident.

"FIBA acknowledged today that there was an altercation between Mali players in the mixed zone following the Group B game Serbia-Mali at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022," the federation wrote.

"Following the incident, FIBA has opened an investigation," the statement added. "Once the investigation is concluded, FIBA will decide on any applicable disciplinary measures."

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Sadly for the Mali team, the fight didn't improve the team's fortunes at the Women's Basketball World Cup. On Tuesday they lost their last game of the tournament by 88-65 against Canada, meaning they go home to Africa with no wins and five losses.

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Mali qualified for this year's World Cup (their second ever) as a late replacement for Nigeria, who pulled out from the tournament citing administrative difficulties, The Guardian reported.